


Locked Out

by Insomiak



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 18:56:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1097472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insomiak/pseuds/Insomiak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was an idiot and didn't bring his dorm key, and now he's going to freeze out here, and they'll find him in the morning as a popsicle, and sempai will yell at him from beyond the grave…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Locked Out

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Christmas present for Minminちゃん(^~^)/*

* * *

 

"So - come with me, Ai-chan! We can go shopping together. You need a new swimsuit right?"

Nitori pulls his shirt over his head, looking thoughtfully at the blond. "Yes, but…"

"So come!" Nagisa says, grabbing onto his hands and pulling them close. "Why wont you?"

"Um - well..." He looks away. "Sempai, is it alright?"

Rin starts when Aiichiro meets his eyes - he'd been watching from further back, listening to them talk. They'd just finished a joint practice at Samezuka, and Nagisa had cornered Nitori in the locker room, asking him if he wanted to spend the night together at the mall. Lately, they've become friends; Rin isn't surprised.

Cocking an eyebrow, he says, "What are you asking for? Have fun, I'll see you later."

Rin leaves for their room with a lazy wave over his head.

 

* * *

  
  
Nagisa turns to the other boy, eyes shining with intent. "Rinrin looked kinda mad," he says like he's telling a secret. He hooks an arm through Nitori's, grinning at him. "Did you guys have a date planned?"

Nitori blushes bright violet. "Um - um - well - "

Nagisa laughs and pulls his friend out of the locker room. "Come on! Let's go~! I'll help you find him a Christmas present, okay? Did you know he likes…"

 

* * *

 

Rin pushes the door to his dorm open, still towel drying his hair. He drops his and Nitori's bag (they'd started to share one for swimming, since they always go together anyway) on the floor, letting out a tired breath of air. They do normally go out on Fridays, but it's not like they ever exactly make plans. Rin doesn't really have the right to be angry. He's not, it's just…  
  
He looks at the empty room and deadpans at it's silence.

If Nitori can go out with friends on a Friday, than so can Rin. He doesn't need to sit in here.

"Mikoshiba!"

"Ha?!"

"Get your coat! We're going out!"

 

* * *

 

Nitori holds up the swimsuit in the changing room, looking at it with great distress. Normally, he would never try something like this - but Nagisa seems to be the kind of person who can make others do anything he wants. Not that Nitori minds it. It's what makes Nagisa such a fun person to be around! But, well. This swimsuit…

He closes his eyes and slips it on.

"Are you done?" Comes an insistent voice. "Show me show me!"

Aiichiro pulls the curtains back.

"Woah," the blond cheers, pink eyes locked onto him with open interest. "That one's really nice~!"

Nitori gazes down at the frilly blue bottoms, looking witheringly at the tiny bows streaming down over his hips. "Ah thank you, Nagisa-kun." He smiles politely. "But I think this sort of style fits you better."

"No way," Nagisa says, "It's really cute. You have to get them, Ai-chan." He grins at Nitori. "I bet Rin-chan really likes this stuff."

Aiichiro looks at himself in the mirror again. "Sempai?" Somehow, he doubts it. But Nitori doesn't want to disappoint his new friend… and besides, just because he buys it doesn't mean he ever has to wear it.

He avoids the store clerk's eyes when he goes to the counter to pay. But she smiles at him kindly and tells him she thinks it's very sweet. "Oh - th-thank you," Nitori stutters at her. He tries to smile himself, but he's sure his cheeks are still a little red. She nods and passes him his bag.

People can be really accepting sometimes, and even though this style isn't something Nitori himself likes to wear, he's happy Nagisa has somewhere he can feel comfortable.

"Okay - time to shop for Rin-chan! Let's go!"

The blond drags him from shop to shop, pointing out sweets, clothes, books, and other things he says that Rin might like. Nitori feels a little overwhelmed. He wishes he could do this himself, that he knew what Rin liked. But they haven't even know each other for a full year yet, and have been together for even less time. Whatever he buys for him, it needs to be something useful, practical, and it needs to make him smile the way he does when he doesn't realize he's doing it. Nitori loves that smile, sharp teeth and everything.

"Ai-chan, you're face looks all lovey-dovey," Nagisa says, voice accusing, "What are you thinking about, huh?"

"Nothing!" He stiffens. "A-Anyway, Nagisa-kun. It's getting late. If we don't leave, we'll miss the last train…"

 

* * *

 

Rin opens his dorm room door for the second time that night. Going out with Mikoshiba and a few of the guys from the team had been fine - at least, better than he'd thought it would be. Rin rarely goes to karaoke and he never sings (never), but the others had wanted to go so he hadn't complained. Everything had been going alright, Rin was being mostly left alone about not singing and just content to watch the others being ridiculous, but then…

And Rin is not this kind of guy.

But then…

The Captain started singing this love song…

It's not his fault! There were cheesy lines like 'you're cute you're sweet you're soft' 'I love your hair, your pretty eyes' 'you're nice to hold and hard to leave' ...

Before Rin knew it, he was thinking about Nitori. Not consciously - exactly - just… his blue eyes and silver hair and that mole popped into Rin's mind and he must have smiled like a fucking idiot, totally unaware he was doing it, because the Captain had turned to him and said, _Woah Matsuoka! I didn't know you could make a_ _sappy face like that!_

Rin had told him where to shove his opinion.  
  
Other than that (and really so what if he smiles when he thinks about his boyfriend isn't that fucking _normal_?), it had been okay.

"Oi, Nitori. How was shopping?" He says into the room as he walks in. There's no response. It's only ten thirty though, maybe he went back to Nagisa's place for awhile? Shrugging, Rin gets himself ready for sleep (morning practice is at six), grabs a book, and lies down in his bed.

 

* * *

 

Wind blows sharply against his face as Nitori walks towards the entrance of his dormitory. It had started to snow once he'd gotten off the train. At first it had only been light fluffy snowflakes, but as he neared Samezuka, the snow turned wet and heavy. His thin peacoat is soaked though to his shirt, and his hair is starting to freeze in the cold wind. He's almost to the door though, so he bares it.

Shivering, he reaches into a wet pocket for his keys. But his fingers wrap around thin air. Nitori makes a surprised noise, and reaches into his other pocket, but it's empty as well.

"Oh…" He says as he begins to remember. They had been running late for practice today, and Rin had told him not to bother with they key, since Rin had his own and they'd be going back together anyway. Except, Nagisa had asked him to hang out…

The wind picks up quickly for a moment, slapping frozen hair into his eyes. "Ahh - " He gasps as he shivers against it.

Nitori looks sadly at the glass door, clutching at his arms to try and keep warm. Hoping for a miracle, he reaches out to tug at it - maybe it's not locked for some reason? It resists him stiffly. He drops his hand away from the door. He was an idiot and didn't bring his dorm key, and now he's going to freeze out here, and they'll find him in the morning as a popsicle, and sempai will yell at him from beyond the grave….

Feeling stupid, Nitori sits down on the steps and hugs himself against the cold. He pulls out his phone and freezes with his finger over the 'call' button on Rin's contact page. He's not sure what the right thing to do is. If he calls, then he might wake sempai up and that'll make him angry but if he doesn't call, he'll just be angry in the morning when he finds out what happened. Nitori doesn't want to make him angry at all.

Clamping his mouth shut, Nitori presses the 'send message' button instead.

But when he looks at his screen he sees that the battery is nearly empty. "Oh!!" He fumbles with his phone to write a message and send it in the seconds of energy it has left.

_sempai im outside forgot key it's cold!!_

He presses send -

\- and his phone dies.

"Did it work??" He asks his depleted phone.

It does not answer.

An hour goes by.

 

* * *

 

Rin sets his book on his stomach, lying on his back on his bed. The alarm clock across the room reads 12:03 AM. He looks at the door, wondering where Nitori is. It's not like Rin would ever demand he come home at a certain time or anything - or that Nitori needs to text him and tell him where he is constantly. But the last run of the train that passes Nagisa’s place to their school was at midnight. Did Nitori miss it? Well, if he did, it's like not Nagisa wouldn't let him stay the night.

He pulls his phone out of his pocket, looking for any missed messages. Nothing. If something was wrong, Aiichiro would text him. He's probably just at Nagisa's.

Rin rolls over and goes to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Nitori stands up and presses his nose into the glass door, knocking on it three times. Of course no one could possibly hear it - but sitting down and doing nothing wont help him. He's starting to lose the feeling in his fingers and toes. What should he do? There's a pay-phone a few blocks up the street… but it's not so safe to walk alone this late.

"He'll notice I'm gone eventually, right??" Nitori asks into the door, fogging up the glass.

 

* * *

 

Rin glares at the alarm clock. It glares back with 12:59 AM. He _can't_ sleep.

Nitori not leaving him any messages is weird. Normally when they're apart he sends at least one either asking Rin some question about his plans later or telling Rin when he'll be back at the school - or even just wondering if Rin wants anything from the vending machine if Nitori is near one. Rin really wouldn't demand it of him, but… is something wrong? Is Aiichiro mad at him for some reason? For not minding that he went out with Nagisa instead of with Rin like they normally do?

Should he have argued? Grabbed Aiichiro and refused to let him leave? Rin's not the type to try and control his partner - but does Nitori _want_ him to?

No, that doesn't sound like him. He wouldn't get jealous or feel insecure just because they have other friends - just because Rin doesn't mind spending time apart - he's too good natured to think anything bad about it.

But what the hell is going on?

Rin sends Nagisa a text, hoping he's still awake.

_Did Nitori spend the night at your place?_

A reply comes a few minutes later.

_No, Ai-chan left around eleven thirty. Why aren't you texting him? Is everything okay?_

Rin's heart stops.

He sits up in bed, clutching the phone in his lap and rereads the message three times. If he’d caught the train around eleven thirty, then Nitori should've been back by midnight.

That was over an hour ago.

Hands shaking, Rin stands up and pulls on a sweater (his mind floods with a hundred possibilities _did he get off at the wrong stop did someone snatch him off the street did he get hit by a car did he fall into the ocean and drown is someone hurting him fuck if someone is hurting him_ \- ), his fingers fumbling to type Aiichiro's number.

_The person you have dialed is not available. Please -_

Rin ends the call. What's going on? He needs to calm down - think. If Nitori is in trouble, panicking isn't going to help. Where would he be? Rin looks at the pile of Nitori's things on their desk, trying to remember anything Aiichiro might have said earlier. His notebooks, some clothes, his dorm key -

Rin looks wide-eyed at the dorm key, a tiny fish chain hanging down off the table.

He can hear his own voice in his head. _Nitori! We don't have time! We're going to come back together anyway, just leave it_.

"Dammit." Pissed off at himself, he exits their room, slamming the door behind him.

_He's probably outside on the steps fucking freezing to death because I'm too stupid to remember that I told him not to worry about his key and his phone must be fucking dead of course it is fucking hell._

When Rin reaches the dormitory's main entrance, Aiichiro has his face pressed into the door. He's holding himself, hair frozen up in a mess, and nose squished into the glass. His blue eyes light up when he spots Rin, and he can see him mouthing his name.

Rin pulls the door open wide.

"Se-Se-Sempai!" he says, shivering.

Rin glares at Aiichiro and grabs his hands, tugging him inside and against his chest and slamming the door shut behind him in one quick motion.

"Sempai…" Nitori says again, sounding bewildered for a moment. Then he sighs contently, pressing into him. "Warm…"

He can feel frozen hair crack under his chin, and his smaller body shaking in his arms. Rin frowns and pulls on him, dragging Nitori down the hall. He'd carry him, but it's probably better for him to work his muscles. But Nitori stumbles more than once, and frigid fingers cling only loosely back at Rin's hand; he'd been out there for more than an hour, he's probably almost hypothermic.

When they're back inside their room, Rin walks Nitori into the middle of it and starts undoing the buttons of his soaked jacket. Nitori is shivering and looks down at Rin's hands, watching him intently. He pulls off Aiichiro's coat, dropping it over the back of the chair at their desk. Then he tugs Nitori's wet shirt up, meaning to pull it off over his head. Rin glares when Nitori says he can do it himself.

"Sempai…"

"Let me." Rin says, undoing his pants next, his warm knuckles grazing Aiichiro's cold stomach. "Alright?"

"… Okay."

When Nitori is in nothing but his underwear, Rin strips off his own sweater and pulls it down over Aiichiro. It reaches all the way to his naked thighs. Then, letting his teeth show, Rin walks him backwards towards his bed. "Get in," he says, knowing he sounds too demanding and angry, hoping Nitori can tell he's just angry at himself.

Aiichiro doesn't hesitate - still shaking he climbs into Rin's bed, snuggling down into the blankets. Blue eyes narrow with concentration, and Nitori brings his hands to his mouth and breathes hot air on them, curling himself into a tight ball. Then he buries his face into the pillow, dragging sheets up over his bare shoulders and sighing happily. For a moment Rin is fighting in the urge to make a high sound in the back of his throat, can feel it trying to push out of his mouth - how can anyone be that unintentionally cute? - but he bites his lip, holding it in.

Nitori cracks an eye open and looks at him. "Are you angry, sempai? I'm sorry you had to come get me."

"No. I…" Rin doesn't know how to explain and just glares; feeling sort of lost, he slide into his bed, doing his best to keep the covers over Nitori's body. Their legs knock together. It almost feels like being stung, Nitori's skin is so cold, and Rin hates himself all over again. He reaches out for Aiichiro, sneaking one arm under his waist where it's pressed into the bed, the other over him; Rin roots two hands on his back and pulls him forwards, the sheets gliding softly against their skin. The air between them dissipates as Rin draws him close. Nitori holds his breath when their chests touch, blue eyes looking at Rin with disoriented perplexity, like he's sure it can't be happening. But Rin just breathes out and sets his forehead on his boyfriend's.

 _Fuck, he's freezing._ A sharp shiver runs through Aiichiro's chest. Rin can feel it against his. He reaches out farther with his arms, wrapping them tight and crushing Nitori into him, tangling their legs together and willing his body to heat him up.

Aiichiro relaxes into him, eyes falling closed. "Mmm," he hums, burying his face up against the crook of Rin's neck, "You're so warm…" He breathes into his skin, inhaling slowly. It tickles and one of Rin's eyes closes. He tries to ignore the way his stomach flips. "And you smell really good." Two cold hands reach up from somewhere in the blankets and fold together at their stomachs where it's warmer.

Rin's face goes bright red. "Nitori," he says, scared to find his voice shaking.

"Hm?"

He runs one hand down Aiichiro's side, under the sweater and stopping a little lower than his hips. "I'm…" Rin looks straight at him, waiting for Nitori to open his eyes. When he does, Rin holds harder onto his hip and tries again. "I'm sorry. I should have realized you'd left your key here."

Then he kisses Nitori just once, on the cheek.

Aiichiro's face positively flares and he brings a hand up to touch the spot where he'd been kissed.

Rin looks at him - he takes Nitori's hand away from his face and kisses his fingers too, wondering if he can make him blush harder. "I went out with some guys from the team, but I thought about you all night."

"What?" Nitori does blush more, face darkening, "All nigh - ?"

Rin kisses him full on the mouth then, cutting him off. He watches Nitori's eyes fall closed. His own do the same when Nitori makes a soft whining sound, pressing into Rin. They pull apart, and Rin starts drawing faint lines on the back of Aiichiro’s neck, lips tugging into a small smile. He’s not so good at getting his feelings across, but whenever he does Nitori’s reactions are always worth it.

"Are you warm now?"

Aiichiro nods and hides his face in Rin's chest, still embarrassed. "Yes."

Rin plays absently with his silver hair, feeling his skin finally warming up in his arms.

After a few minutes of calm silence, he spots the shopping bag on the floor.

"So, what did you buy at the mall?"

"Ah!" Nitori stiffens. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Really?" Rin laughs lightly. "What is it? Something dirty?"

"Not - not exactly…"

"So? Can you show me later?"

"If you really want, but…" Aiichiro's fingers grip at his biceps, his lips moving faintly against Rin’s chest. "Nagisa-kun made me buy them. You wont like it."

"You sure?"

"Definitely."

Rin waits until Aiichiro falls asleep before he lets himself do the same. Just before he does though, he makes a mental note to check the contents of the shopping bag in the morning.

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Song lyrics: Summertime's End - "The Art of Succinct Compliments"
> 
> Edit: I wrote this before I found out that Nitori, Rin, and Mikoshiba are the Masters of Karaoke *


End file.
